Pagoda Lost 700 Million Yuan in Two Years. The High Prices Stayed. The Trust Didn't.
At seven in the evening, outside a residential compound in Hangzhou. The Pagoda light box was on. A clerk lined up peaches. One peach weighed in at 12.8 yuan. In a community group-buying chat, a message popped up: Hainan Golden Diamond pineapple, 19.9 yuan each, arriving tomorrow. A customer stood at the entrance, glanced at the price board, turned, and walked toward the package rack in the compound.